Rangers v Hibs: How to watch, team news, kick-off time, what the manager said

Saturday’s home defeat at the hands of St Mirren meant Shaun Maloney’s men have picked up just two points – both 0-0 draws – from a possible 15 in the cinch Premiership since returning from the winter break.

Ending that run should would be imperative, though it’ll be a tough task to do so on Tuesday evening after Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men blew away Hearts with a 5-0 thumping on Sunday evening.

Where and when

Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo battles with Joe Newell during the narrow 1-0 defeat Hibs suffered at Easter Road last time around. Picture: SNS

Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow. Wednesday 9 February. 7.45pm kick-off time.

How to watch

Tickets for the match in Govan are still available to purchase at the Hibs ticket office and through the website. A stream of the game will be available on Rangers pay-per-view.

Team news

Josh Doig, Matt Macey, and Paul McGinn are now fully fit but the midweek fixture looks like coming too soon for captain Paul Hanlon and midfielder Joe Newell, while Kyle Magennis remains sidelined. Harry Clarke should be back by the end of the month.

Rangers will be without Ryan Jack who sustained an ankle injury in the 5-0 victory over Hearts on Sunday. Aaron Ramsey is not yet fit enough to start in midfield, while the game comes a little too early for Filip Helander, who is recovering from a knee injury.

Possible line-ups

Rangers: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Bassey; Jack, Kamara, Ramsey; Diallo, Morelos, Kent

Hibs: Dabrowski; McGinn, Porteous, Stevenson; Cadden, Henderson, Newell, Doig; Jasper, Nisbet, Mueller.

Referee

Nick Walsh returns to referee Rangers v Hibs for the second time this season. The whistler was in charge earlier in the season when the hosts rebounded from an early deficit to defeat Jack Ross’ men 2-1 after Ryan Porteous was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Joe Aribo. It’s the last time the Easter Road club have encountered him as a match official, though he’s overseen Rangers away wins against Motherwell and Hearts, as well as the recent 3-3 draw with Ross County.

Head to head

Hibs have only defeated Rangers once in the last 15 meetings, though it was the biggest of the lot as they knocked the Ibrox side out of the League Cup semi-finals earlier this campaign. In fairness, the Leith club typically give their old Championship nemesis a game, losing by more than one goal only once in that stretch and recording five draws. The last win at Ibrox came in February 2018 when Jamie Maclaren netted from the penalty spot to give Neil Lennon’s side all three points.

What the manager said

“That’s always a decision on team selection that I will leave to the last moment. Kevin [Dabrowski] did fine against St Mirren. His performance was absolutely fine.” (Shaun Maloney)

We are prepared well for the visit of Hibs, it was a tough match in our away fixture. Our main objective is to focus on ourselves and aim for victory. (Giovanni van Bronckhorst)

What the bookies say

Rangers 3/10, Draw 9/2, Hibs 9/1 – Bet365, correct as of February 8

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